‘Next time, speak with me’: Star’s Miami meltdown laid bare as ugly Ferrari vision emerges.
“In the space of four corners, I put a very strong race in the bin -- so I am very frustrated about that.” Charles Leclerc.
4 May 2026
AFP
Fox Sports (Australia)

Charles Leclerc admitted he threw away a podium finish for Ferrari with a wild penultimate lap as he dropped from third to finish eighth in Monday’s Miami Grand Prix. “I was third and I pushed very hard in the second-to-last lap. I thought it was a good idea to kind of let Oscar (Piastri) go for me to get the overtake (of him),” said Leclerc. “I knew it was going to be very difficult to stay in front of him otherwise, and it was a very poor decision.”

“In the space of four corners, I put a very strong race in the bin -- so I am very frustrated about that. I did my best to try and make the corners first of all... But it was probably a lot more difficult for me than it looked to be from the outside,” Leclerc said before the ruling. Speaking of the damage to his car, he said: “The damage was significant. To tell you exactly what was the damage, I’m not so sure.”

“I’m pretty sure there was a puncture, there was probably some suspension damage as well, as I couldn’t really turn to the right anymore. So yeah, I’m very disappointed with myself. It’s all on me and it’s a mistake.” The Monegasque was also heard questioning his team over team radio earlier about the timing of his pit stop. “Why did we stop? When is the rain?” Leclerc said. “Next time you make a decision please speak with me. I am here as well.”

“I put a very strong race in the bin”;

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...4c9281ae8d92fd


Charles Leclerc on Miami GP error: I put my race in the bin
3 May 2026
Nate Saunders
ESPN.com

MIAMI -- Charles Leclerc took full blame for the late Miami Grand Prix mistake that saw him "put a very strong race in the bin" and drop from third to eighth on the final lap. The Ferrari driver and McLaren's Oscar Piastri were fighting for a spot on the podium at the start of the final lap Sunday. Piastri had got past him on the penultimate lap, but Leclerc had one final attempt to get by with his battery boost. But Leclerc spun while fighting for the position and tapped the wall with his left front tyre.

The slow-moving Leclerc then lost fourth position to George Russell at the penultimate corner -- where the two also made contact -- before Max Verstappen caught him in a drag race for fifth position as they approached the start-finish line. Leclerc finished sixth on the road, and that became eighth after a post-race 20-second penalty for skipping a number of corners as he nursed his car to the finish line.

Leclerc refused to blame the strategy for how his race unfolded. "I think that without the mistake, I could have done a podium," he said. "More than strategy, it's easy to blame on the strategy afterward; even with the best strategy with that mistake on the last lap, I probably wouldn't have been on the podium. First, I'll look at myself, and then surely I'll speak with the team to try and improve whatever we haven't optimized today."

‘Final attempt to get by’;

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/4...ce-bin-ferrari


Charles Leclerc demoted behind Lewis Hamilton, Franco Colapinto in Miami GP results after chaotic finish that was 'all on me'
4 May 2026
Sky Sports

Charles Leclerc said it was "all on me" after he "put a very strong race in the bin" in a torrid, chaotic end to his Miami Grand Prix which later saw the Ferrari driver demoted to eighth place by a stewards' penalty.

Leclerc told stewards that the car would not take right-hand turns properly after contact with the wall but officials ruled after their investigation that "the fact that he had a mechanical issue of some sort did not amount to a justifiable reason" for cutting several corners.

"We determined that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e. to leave the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in that manner," stewards said. "We accordingly impose a Drive Through penalty on Car 16 [Leclerc], given the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage."

‘Charles Leclerc demoted’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...-was-all-on-me


Leclerc and Hamilton left frustrated after tough Miami Grand Prix
4 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Ferrari leave Miami with mixed emotions as Leclerc’s late mistake and penalty overshadow Hamilton’s damage limiting drive Ferrari’s Miami Grand Prix delivered a split narrative for the Scuderia. Lewis Hamilton salvaged what he could from a compromised car, while Charles Leclerc’s podium contending afternoon unravelled through a combination of strategy frustration, late race errors and a post race penalty that dropped him to eighth.

Hamilton hampered from the start after contact with Colapinto. Hamilton’s race was effectively shaped within seconds of the lights going out. The Briton made contact with Williams rookie Franco Colapinto off the line, an incident the stewards later deemed a straightforward racing incident. But the consequences were immediate and lasting: Hamilton’s SF 26 suffered damage that robbed him of downforce and left him unable to compete with the leading group.

Leclerc’s strong start unravels through strategy, traffic and a last lap error. While Hamilton was battling damage, Leclerc was very much in the fight at the front. He was the only one of the top three to navigate Turn 1 cleanly on the opening lap, emerging in the lead after chaos behind him. But the race soon turned more complicated. He lost out to Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris in the early phases, and Ferrari opted to pit him earlier than both to cover off a potential George Russell undercut. That decision dropped Leclerc into traffic, compromising his pace and costing him track position — a strategic call that left the Monegasque frustrated.

‘Mixed emotions’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28503


Lewis Hamilton reveals staggering Ferrari damage impact
Lewis Hamilton's Miami Grand Prix was undone on the opening lap of the race after contact with Franco Colapinto.
4 May 2026
Fergal Walsh & Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

Lewis Hamilton has revealed he was losing half a second per lap due to extensive damage to his car during the Miami Grand Prix. Although he was able to hold on to seventh place at the chequered flag, Hamilton stated he was carrying significant damage. “I was really unlucky to get caught up in Max's spin and obviously lost positions from there,” he told media including RacingNews365.

“Then I got damage from Franco and that lost me a ton of downforce. I was just in no man's land after that. I lost half a second of downforce on the car, I was just driving around, trying to get as many points as I could with the damage.” Hamilton asserted confidence that he would have been in the mix if not for the damage he picked up.

“We progressed going into qualifying and the laps to the grid felt really strong,” he added. “I was feeling like ‘we're going to be strong in this race’ - and then obviously, with the damage, it's the worst when it happens on lap one. There’s just nothing you can do.”

“Losing half a second per lap”;

https://racingnews365.com/lewis-hami...-damage-impact


Hamilton hints Ferrari might "have the best car, but it’s hard to fight with Mercedes” due to PU limitations
4 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Speaking to Mara Sangiorgio of Sky Italia, Lewis Hamilton was explicit about where Ferrari is losing its fights: “Engine upgrade? Yes, this really is what we need so much. "Now it's very hard for us to fight against the power of the Red Bull and Mercedes power units, which both have a big advantage over ours," the Briton continued. Ferrari’s deficit — widely believed in the paddock to be in the region of several tenths per lap depending on circuit layout — has become the defining limitation of the SF 26.

Lewis Hamilton repeatedly emphasised that Ferrari’s foundations are strong — strong enough, in his view, to fight for victories once the engine deficit is addressed. “For the rest, we have a great car, perhaps even the best, so we have to solve this problem because, if we succeed, we could really be fighting for victories.” This is the clearest public endorsement yet of Ferrari’s 2026 chassis concept from the seven time world champion. Internally, the team has been encouraged by the SF 26’s cornering performance and tyre management, both of which have been competitive even on circuits where Ferrari traditionally struggled.

A damage limited Sunday: “I had nothing”. Hamilton’s race unravelled early when Max Verstappen’s spin forced him off line, leaving him boxed in and then his SF26 suffered major floor damage due to a contact with Alpine's Franco Colapinto on the first lap. “I felt like we would have been more competitive, so I really felt optimistic for today. I got held up at the beginning when Max spun and I was in the wrong position for that, and then obviously the damage that I got after that then I was just… I had nothing.” From that moment, Hamilton was stuck in what he called “no man’s land”...

'PU limitations';

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28511